The Promise aka Wu Ji

Plot Outline: Empowered by the love of a slave (Dong-kun), a royal concubine (Cheung) is given the chance to make an extraordinary decision.
Credited cast: Dong-Kun Jang .... Kunlun Hiroyuki Sanada .... The General Cecilia Cheung .... The Princess Nicholas Tse .... The Duke


I just came back from watching the movie and what a disappointment - all style and no substance. The cinematography was beautiful as were the costumes..I consider this movie is metaphysical and a wild fantasy.
Personally, I found lots of meanings and implication in it - love, fate, desire, resentment, pride, peace, fellowship, trust, faith, promise, kind, vicious, evil, loyalty, betrayal, freedom, equality and hope.... And they're all integrated into this movie in whole and in part. But I just cannot find out the central thought or meaning of this movie, actually I think no one can.




"The promise" at least doesnt pretend to be anything else other than a fantasy of raw emotions. The four men provide a field of varied contrasts, and are well casted. The simple, all-goodness slave is convincingly portrayed by Korean Jang Dong-Kun. Japanese Sanada Hiroyuki (look like Sivaji Ganesan a bit) as the flare and charisma for the indomitable spirit of the general who is all egos. Then, it is certainly a pleasure to see Nicholas Tse (he got a like scratchig ur back kind of a fork with a gold hand and ..wah lau eh....) in a role that could have been written for Johnny Depp, the evil and slightly campy duke. The one I like best, however, is Liu Ye, in a role that better than perfect for him, tragic to the bones.(aint life great)


As for the plot and the characters hmmm! It had about as much depth as a children's book, The story was too one dimensional and bland and I didn't feel any empathy for any of the characters ... there didn't seem to be any real passion or depth to any of them. Although the movie is about love, there was a big lack of smouldering passion on screen....Takda itu la any way thats that

Meeting New frens and building a relationship out of nothing

Yes, I have Internet friends
Is that really as much an admission of patheticness as it used to be? I suspect that a rather large number of people today who are active on the net have people there whom they would call their friends. I dun mind.....

A lot of people have internet friends. Perhaps I should really hyphenate that word to be internet-friends, in a similar fashion as you would say work-friends, old-friends, sport-frens or fuck-buddies some mix and some dun. This is to say that the word internet is not a descriptive enhancement to the word friend, but a conjunction that gives a completely different connotation.hehehehehe

The nature of the internet is anonymity. When you begin talking to someone online they have zero idea about who you really are, and conversely you have zero idea who they really are. In time people grow the false notion that, after their many hours of online chatting, that they have a pretty good idea of who their internet-friend is.

This couldn't be further from the truth and many a times I learn it the hard way…do I repent..NO!!!. When you're talking online there is the unmistakable ability to provide half-truths, leave out details you don't want to talk about, or present only those parts that you do want to talk about. Additionally there is very little room for holistic empathy online. That is to say that given the ability to hide yourself, it is increasingly difficult to pick-up on the subtleties of a person online as compared to in person. You may, after time, become aware of how that person reacts to things, how they type differently when they're in a certain mood etc. However you're always judging those observations with the veil of anonymity around it...the half-truths....the missing details.

The difference between real friends and internet friends comes down to the difference between implicit and explicit interactions. When you're looking at a real life friend in a conversation, there are dozens of subtle implied interactions both conscious and subconscious. You can pick up on the subtleties on-the-fly, without your opinion being countered by a well thought out, logically typed lie. There is no such thing as "putting someone on the spot" when you're talking online. They always have time to formulate their answers or mask their initial reaction and like wise I apply the same

An even more important aspect of knowing somoene online is that you have no idea in what manner they interact with people other than yourself. It's easy to create an island of interaction between two people. Even without intending to do so, people act differently around person A, then they do around person B, and certainly different when they're with person B, C and D. You can relate this dating. Many times a man and a woman will meet each other and have a grand time together. However eventually you they need to take that interaction to the next level involving friends and family, at which time things, all too often, turn out to be other than they seemed.

When the chips are all down, you really have no idea who you're dealing with online. Internet-friends have a place, and they can be helpful, fun and enjoyable. And sometimes that all you need sometimes that all I need

`The Sound of Music.'

We all know the story. Julie Andrews plays a Catholic nun who becomes a nanny for Christopher Plummer's millions upon millions of children (not literally) in Austria. After a while she falls in love with Plummer's character. They sing. The children sing. We all sing for ice cream – err, I mean…never mind.

Anyway, that's how the story goes. Interesting to note that three whole hours revolve around just that. The songs never fail to bring a smile to my face. Call me a softies or bite me!! I loved THE SOUND OF MUSIC! The songs in it just make you feel good! No matter what your feeling. And it also shows how music can help you through terrible times. What can I say about this fabulous movie that hasn't already been said? I must have seen the film 100-150 times (3 times in one day-TWICE!!) but I still LOVE to watch it.

Did you know Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss, both of whom tried out for the roles of the children, and would they have been better… I wonder…wonder…wonder…heheh

A Big Fish ooops 2 Big Fish

All because of David


On the run-up to the BBQ there was a lot of chatting and Ahmoi kind of yanked David’s chain to bring fish…..she meant it as a joke....now David is a guy that you dun mess with or joke with…that bugger called me the next day while I met Teddy and Alp for lunch at Mac D…saying he got the fish and going to the house to leave it.

When I got back…lo behold that bugger brought not ONE but farking TWO bloody Siakap…just like that that he had cought at the pond. So it was not used for the BBQ and the only way it was gonna get eaten if the owner come to the house to makan…sooooo Wed was set as a dinner date.

Clean the friggin huge fish the night before gutting it, removing the scales..the whole kitchen has scales flying left and right. Not having the right equipment ended me and Dory’s dad wrestling with both the fishes over 1 hour.

Then we did not have the big bowls so cut the fish into 3 each and clean it up so the next day easier.

Next day after work rush rush.. ahmoi already set it up…. We cooked French beans with ayam, Siakap fried with kicap sause…and steamed siakap….and soup…ayam soup Chinese style And the pics says it all from inception…. Dinner was set and Uncle David late la but made it….the rain did not help…but every one chip in with the expense and finishing of the food hahahaha burp!!!!

So dinner was me, alp, vs, micigan (lin), teddy, ahmoi, david and good old Kalai it was nice coz David manage to make it and I wanted him to be there coz he got the fish for us FOC no questions asked. Every was bloody full laid back chatting a little crackig some joke...miciganw as at the end of some of it but she was lovley and took it like a champion

Lessons learned form the dinner, Never ask teddy to buy coke, make sure VS know where Lin actually studying, there is a difference between coke and vanilla coke (duh!!)

Wet BBQ

Xmas

Well another bbq another night of fellowship...

I had many BBQ and invited frens, family frens this was a 1st time there was a synergy of both and I felt happy, contended and doing what I was doing.


Let see roll call
Lovely to see the 2c J&J who drove down from johor for this...I will never forget their hospitality when I stayed in their place

Alp was kind enough to go and pick Viv, who was coerced into making sandwiches, who in turn brought her god son Dennis, who in turn turned out to be a master of the BBQ pit (how “many who in turn” ah lol)

Vs who only woke at 5pm after our party Fri Night..

TD who decided to slave drive his dad up to the point the poor man had a slip disk arrived late but was well in league

It was Great to see David who showed up despite his pressing engagements on Xmas eve the punch line for him will always be "dun try vodka with 100+"

The hits just kept on cumming...while chatting online my Oyster drop a fruit bomb and said she was coming with “Semut” …...a smile instantly came over me...here was a good fren I had not laid eyes on a darling in every sense and a lovely person.

Tooth buzzed late evening bout 6 and showed up... a true gent and a fren to boot, polite courteous and bring warmth to any occasion...a great pleasure to see him after a long time.

There were Ah moi & Dory’s parents, Their aunt and the kids and stuff… J&J family fren Dharma showed up…we were a lively bunch…


Not the rain or the cold winds could dampen the mood….started off slow and Dennis amazed me with his skill over the pit which was shifted twice to accommodate the rain... still a buzz... more came then expected...Td and I went to get more food..

What I like about this is everyone chipped in to help run the night both in organizing and $$$...well there was a few no shows probably things happen but they sent their apologies Sam Kalai …Then there was SRP and Dory actually marshaling the pit with the nuggets was a sight to see…Dory’s guest finally showed up and they too enjoyed their selves


I loved every minute of the fellowship...bout 10.30 we adjourn to a higher lever and chatted the night away with late guest arriving and talking the night away...

We spoke about anything and everything till it was time to open the presents hehehe Im got 2 presents lol even though I dun celebrate.

Dory got a chess board which fatty started playing soon on the pretext of teaching him how to play, Tooth, David, J&J, Alp all soon started taking over the chess board. When adult take over gone la

This went on till late night…Each left on their feet and a smile on their face…

After they left, I went down to the poolside with the Chevas and laid back soaking in the night sipping it away….reflecting …..

Tsunami - I could have been dead

A year ago today I would have been dead. Why? Here I was scheduled to leave to Phuket for a holiday conference on the 24th of December but due to my best fren's brother wedding I changed the dated to the 26th evening. As the events unfolded on the 26th morning sketchy at the beginning but it dawned upon a realization


Watching CNN, I watched the events unfold and sat in silence and shock.. my family members called me to confirm if I had boarded the flight. There was a distinct numbness thru my body as the event continues to be highlighted for the next few days…not a single person could have predicted this then again… if it was not for a fren’s wedding I wont be here blogging either.

Captain's Cabin

Meeting new people? Certainly why not!!!


I had helped a chat fren recently on staffing and we had met up over coffee one night just to check if we not the mad, criminally insane kind of person that lurks on irc lol. So while we scheme and chat on the net, we had invite me....that right me to his sister's birthday party at the above. So among the guys there we were scheming and planning what to buy for the sister. Until Friday lunch a bunch of guys could not even string a gift together (go figure) then again we had to prep Td up for the night


Friday night came, put on my best and headed out there...my my what a gridlock... dump the car and decided it was much faster walking.. SV introduced me to his wife and his guests ..because of the jam the rest of the gang was delayed. Soon one by one arrive and the birthday girl it self.

The beauty of this place is nice cozy lovely stage a awesome live band, tag-team DJ and they had paper dolls...it was an interesting perspective and a lady in red(a guest of SV)...what a lady in red...after events of match making with Td and Dav the sisters arrived... Dav was lost in the beginning was work was buzzing him over and over again till his Singaporean frencalled it a night lol...The band is good and knew how to belt out songs..so next to secret place this is also a nice point, heheh as long as I was not paying the bill...hehehe drinks were on the host but we were responsible guests....

The paper dolls (ah gua) provided stand up comedy, dancers and there was a good interaction with the crowd but in the end of the day it was all for a good laugh.

They even got a guest to join in their performance on stage….Towards the end they got all the people celebrating their birthdays incidentally were all ladies and got them on stage for a merriment of laughter then the whole crowd sang H.B for them






















Next to the Swedish blonde from a blog not long ago the next was a lady in red who join as Sv’s guest. Hubba hubba all in gud fun and laugh. Its been a long time since I let my hair down in the company of new frens..not complaining bout my current set of fren who I would not trade the world for…. But here I was amidst a different group…..hmmmmm I wonder if a merger is possible lol NOT!!! Keep them apart lol


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Xmas - What does it mean to you

Christmas (originally the "Mass of Christ") is a holiday, observed in most of the world on December 25, celebrated by Christians to mark the birth of Jesus. Many Christmas traditions originated with pre-Christian observances that were subsumed into Christianity, for example the Winter solstice as well as Yule.
In predominantly Christian countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year, and it is also celebrated as a secular holiday in many countries with small Christian populations like Japan. It is largely characterized by gifts being exchanged within families and being brought by Santa Claus, Father Christmas or by other mythical figures. Local and regional Christmas traditions are still rich and varied, despite the widespread influences.








When I hear Christmas carols, they don’t make me think of Christ, they make me think of family and friends. They make me think of a time to be grateful for what I have and how to help others less fortunate than myself or my family. Christmas is a time for sharing. We have all heard the old saying that Christmas is a time for giving not receiving. I am not trying to degrade Christmas and I am not trying to take ANYTHING away from the Christian faith… when I say Happy Holidays I am saying it with love and RESPECT for all my friends, family, and clients of many faiths.

So I leave you with this:

We all have to live together on one tiny Earth, so I wish you all a:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS and let's not forget MERRY X'MAS
And remember, no matter what you call it, it’s all just a matter of being happy with yourself, your family and your friends.

"wake and take a good look at reality",

"wake and take a good look at reality", says my friend.

"stop dreaming", she said. she's right (so she thinks).

i've always been this out of focused person, and generally without any damn goals in life. a dreamer, in short. what's wrong with that? rebelled my inner voice. rebelled my youth, rebbled my desire to break free of these shackles.... that's the only thing that kept me alive and brought me this far. it makes u look into the future.

if i smell reality and submit myself to it, i would join the flow of time, the routine of culture and life. "what do you think i should be?" is a stupid question to ask anyone. as out of focus and unrealistic as i may be, i rather be dead than to live my life like how others want me to do it because they're more comfortable with it. i should wake up to reality? i've already woken upand and seen it and now, i want to make my own reality. thanks for telling me straight to the face. now, i am convinced that i need to do this more than ever.

Extract from jeffooi is so true and ironic

Screenshots reader William Arul connects to 110% reality maths:
www.jeffooi.com


How are your Maths?

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this:

What Makes 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.
How about achieving 103%?
What makes up 100% in life?


Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that...
While Hardwork and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the BullShiT and Ass kissing that will put you over the top.
Don't say you have not been warned in life.

A chinese Movie

I have had my fair share of chinese movies and some of them are really worth watching...so here I was offered free ticket to go for movies...hmmm who am I to say no especially when the stars of the movies were in town.







(see take pic with handphone camera and normal camera hahaha)

I got to hand it to SRP...that girl got the knack of winning contest and getting this done..this time it was the Nicholas TZE...and Fan Bing Bing. .there I was with SRP, Dory and the 2 kiddos going to watch a chinese movie heheheh the they entered said their hello answered their questions then i got memarized by Fan Bing Bing
Ding Ding Ding lol


The movie is actually based on the Novel/tv drama Journey to the West which I love to watch

The novel tells of a fictionalized and mythologized version of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang's (also named Tripitaka) pilgrimage to India in order to obtain religious texts called Sutras. In light of this quest called upon by the Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Gautama Buddha, the monk has been assigned three guardians or protectors in the form of disciples—namely

The monkey king Sun Wukong (孫悟空, also Monkey),
The pig-monster Zhu Bajie (豬八戒, also Pigsy),
The river demon Sha Wujing (沙悟淨, also Friar Sand).

Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy—together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's horse mount. All four characters have agreed to help the Buddhist monk as an atonement for past sins. The pilgrims undergo 81 calamities of all sorts before safely transporting the sutras from India to their place in capital Chang'an.

Part of the novel's enduring popularity comes from the fact that it works on multiple levels: it is an adventure story, a dispenser of spiritual insight, and an extended metaphor in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.


The movie however was with a comical twist, haliriously funny and the 2 kids were loving it... so was I

The highlands

Had a lovely get away to the highlands....it was a good break and well deserved a bit of a wet weather going up and down..







a since it was raining most of the day time the clown came out keeping the kids all














happy xmas decoration














and lots of coffreeeeeee













lovely full mooon king kong moon i guessss and i watch it toooooo